Okay, so I didn’t finish the game, but I still had fun playing it!
Pros:
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A beginner tutorial that considers both QWERTY & AZERTY keyboards—thank you!
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I really liked the music, and there's a good variety! I would have liked the themes to feel a bit less repetitive and more catchy, but honestly, it’s already a solid effort for a game jam.
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The dash in all directions is a bit tricky on the keyboard, but I got used to it. And wow—it feels really satisfying! The fact that it bounces off walls is great, and you’ve created a unique gameplay feel I’ve never seen anywhere else. Really well done on this!
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No lags or bugs.
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Nice level design variations and some interesting platforming mechanics.
Cons:
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Warning: In the first tutorial, it's not clear that the dash can be used in every direction at the "Dash to kill an enemy" stage. You explain it later, but since you need this knowledge to progress, players might get stuck there and stop playing because they don’t understand it.
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Visually, the tilemaps feel too repetitive. (I saw you used Godot—you can add randomization to tile properties, even with terrain, to create more diversity. Don’t hesitate to use this next time! Also, try to avoid a mosaic-like look in your tilemaps.)
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Lack of appeal in terms of SFX and VFX.
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No progression system that makes it feel like a true Metroidvania (e.g., acquiring power-ups, unlocking new abilities, etc.).
I stopped playing when I died in the third biome and respawned very far from where I was. That was frustrating, so I stopped.
I guess you didn’t have time to add enemies (the red crosses). Maybe next time, it would be better to remove placeholders like these if they can’t be replaced, as they make the game feel strange and unfinished. It’s totally fine to have a pure platformer if there aren’t any enemies—if you had a progression system that enhances platforming mechanics, it would work just as well to feel like a metroidvania!
But overall, you can be proud of what you’ve accomplishe! The game has clear fun potential! It still needs polish, better SFX, VFX, and more appealing visuals to feel more professional, but it’s already playable and enjoyable right now even if it feels unfinished, so it can only get better from here.
And that unique bouncing dash mechanic you created? Genius! I’ve never seen it before, and it has incredible potential, I’m really impressed!
Congratulations on making it this far!
I’m curious to see what you’ll create next! 😊